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English might not be the first language of most computer users, but English is definitely the lingua franca of the internet. This explains why I am able to read the President of India's web site, or why LKML is conducted strictly in English, despite having participants from every continent. Increased adoption of the Dvorak layout could benefit anyone who spends a lot of time online.

As for coders, there's no need to stop with that distinction. I spend a lot of time coding Ruby. Certainly the best layout for me would have very little in common with that of someone who writes Java for a living (no semicolons for me!) I've often toyed with the idea of hacking together a quick-n-dirty genetic algorithm that would build an optimal layout based on analysis of your source files. Alas, too few minutes in the day :-)

The worst presidents (and other heads of governments) are those that continuously state that terrorists are a threat, and that everything that could possibly help a terrorist has to be taken down.

Obviously you have no idea who you're talking about. I'm an Indian, and I can say without doubt that this person is the best President India has ever had. You could go here and read his profile before you start off with your rant about how any head of state who talks about terrorism is bad.

We have been dealing with terrorism since the 1980s (1947 if you count the Pakistan-backed and Pakistan-trained tribals who infiltrated into Kashmir alongwith the Pakistan Army). And no, this is not the sort of terrorism you're used to, which is one flashy event in five years. This is the sort of terrorism which bleeds the state, which bleeds the populace it targets, every single day.

The terrorist threat to your nation may be a boogeyman. The one to mine isn't.
I suggest you take a look at the following pages. Or search for "Kashmir Militancy" and judge for yourself. But don't rely on one source.

Pakistan's role in terrorism in Kashmir
Auschwitz in Kashmir by Pak-backed terrorists
The legal documents pertaining to the accession of the Independent Kingdom of Jammu and Kashmir to the Republic of India
Additionally, thanks to Bangladesh and the Pakistani ISI, we now have had a terrorist threat to the north east of the country, predominantly in the states of Assam, Manipur, Nagaland and the rural areas of West Bengal.

Who's the dominant person in this photo? What about here? Does this help?

See, it's easy!

Who's the dominant person in this photo? What about here? Does this help?

See, it's easy!

Who's the dominant person in this photo? What about here? Does this help?

See, it's easy!

Richard Stallman also visited the President and interestingly, the President had prepared for the meeting by downloading and reading Stallman's biography from the Internet."

For the curious, the President of India's website runs Apache/PHP on Linux.

Just finished sendin the mail to the President of India, regarding the Ordinance to amend Patent Act.

To make your voice heard:
President email ID: presidentofindia@rb.nic.in
or
you can use the form at http://presidentofindia.nic.in/scripts/writetopres ident.jsp

Even if you are not Indian, consider doing that - for the sake of another country with a 3% population of techies.

Introduction, Preliminary, Inventions not Patentable clearly mentions something about e-Patents .. so that post can be easily forgotten .

Computer Programs
1. Computer program is not patentable invention as computer program is
a set of instructions for controlling a sequence of operations of a dataprocessing
system. It closely resembles a mathematical method .It
may be expressed in various forms eg. A series of verbal statements, a
flow chart, an algorithm, or other coded form and may be presented in
a format suitable for direct entry into a particular computer, or may
require transcription into a different format (or computer “language”). It
may merely be written on paper or recorded on some machine-
readable medium such as magnetic tape or disc or optically scanned
record, or it may be permanently recorded in a control store forming
part of a computer. Thus it is evident that a program may be presented
in terms of either software or firmware.

India does offer Process Patents but explicitly prevents patenting naturally occurring substances or extracts there of. However you are free to patent your form of culturing or producing an anti-biotic or vaccine. Patent infringement can be enforced in India as is with any other country in the world. Interestingly , Prior art of Foreign origin are valid in India - unlike the USPTO .

Get an OSS Loving, Nuke Missile Desgning President for your country too :)

Never, but never cite a Geocities page as reference.
In this case, however, you are right .
Gotta love a presidente that also has links to his books, poetry and songs. Specially when the books include Develompents in Fluid Mechanics and Space Technology

Never, but never cite a Geocities page as reference.
In this case, however, you are right .
Gotta love a presidente that also has links to his books, poetry and songs. Specially when the books include Develompents in Fluid Mechanics and Space Technology

btw, your argument about the indian state not having done enough for its people is right. but a big part of the reason is where india started from in 1947 and that it takes more effort to feed/clothe/house a billion people than it takes to feed/clothe/house malaysia or singapore or taiwan.

Knowing my president, he definitely does not see "unique" as "closed". So let's not mis-interprete his words. He probably meant "not based on tainted imported technology", i.e. an encouragement to innovate, rather than copy.

I have watched him take on this issue for years now (in his roles as both president of India, and as a highly respected scientist), and I can tell you that you are dealing with someone who is majorly savvy about open systems. He could probably teach quite a few people here on Slashdot about such things - he certainly taught Bill Gates a few things.

If RMS was in a receptive state of mind during his meeting with President Kalam, I am sure he would have learnt a few things himself.

Incidentally his official website runs Apache/2.0.42 (Unix) PHP/4.2.3. A couple of brief excerpts from his bio here:

After a fairly secure childhood, during which he is said to have read as much as he could, he studied at the Madras Institute of Technology, where he specialised in Aero Engineering.

He has worked in leading defence and space organisations in research and managerial capacities. He contributed in a major way to the development of the Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV) III, which put the Rohini Satellite into orbit. He has also been chairperson to Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC).

A vegetarian, his interests include playing the veena and writing poetry. He has written two books, Ignited Minds: Unleashing the Power Within India and India 2020: Vision for the New Millennium.

Till now, Abdul Kalam has been best known for his key role in the nuclear tests at Pokharan in the Rajasthan desert on May 11 and 13, 1997. With most parties choosing him as their presidential candidate, he has become the 11th Indian to join a very select group.

> the bible claims Jesus said "I came not to bring peace, but a sword. "
To suggest Jesus is counselling violence is to suggest Jesus tells men to murder their fathers... for the very next verses say:

"For I have come to turn
a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law--
a man's enemies will be the members of his own household.'
"Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me..."

Jesus is speaking about the high cost of following him - are you willing to pay it?
Responding more directly to your allegation - when soldiers came and arrested Jesus for his crucifixion, his disciple Peter drew his sword and injured one of them. Jesus then expressly forbade him saying: "put the sword back in it's place - those who live by the sword shall die by the sword." Jesus later said "my kindgom is not of this world, if it was of this world, then would my followers fight". He also said "when someone slaps you on one cheek, turn the other cheek". Never are we permitted to violence. God has left *ALL* judgement to Jesus at the end of this age.

Don't get me wrong - the punishment for murder is still death and hell, as is the punishment for rejecting God, for adultery, for sexual immorality, for theft and lies, homosexuality... However God in his loving kindness to all allowed his Son to be a sacrifice for all who would repent, even the most wretched of murderers. We are forbidden to inflict God's judegement on them - that is left to Jesus - we are *commanded* (NOT "requested") to forgive those who even kill and persecute us.

> If you are a polytheist or a Hindu or Jew or Christian,
> they will allow you to keep your religion and worship whatever you want.
> That's mandatory according to what the Muslim leaders say.
The level of tolerance varies with the verses as this link points out. However, Islam takes God's commands (remember what Jesus said about turning the other cheek), and takes it and changes it so that it appeals to our earthy nature ("if someone slaps me, I *should* be able to slap them back").

> Islamic states offer a degree of freedom of religion,
All Islamic countries offer non-Muslims is a very superficial tolerance as long as they stay "subdued". But God help non-Muslims who preach their faith, or a Muslim who converts away from Islam -- death sanctioned by Islam (i.e. Murder) is what follows quite often. Why do you think so many Muslims avoid even listening to other teachings so much?

> Eh, I'm sick of hearing how one side teaches hatred of the other side in schools.
> I want to see proof. I hear Hindus teach hatred of Muslims,
> and Muslims teach hatred of Hindus.
Well, I have just the proof you need.

I was raised a Hindu in Bombay, India. When I went to school in the 80s, the state syllabus never said one word about religion - neither Hinduism nor Islam - because the state was secular. There are, and have always been violent Hindu fundamentalists, but do you think this man would permit irrational hatred to be taught in Indian schools? (he's Muslim)

However, Pakistan is another story...
Let a prominent Pakistani English newspaper describe the problem:...:
One should perhaps be 'shocked' to read in Professor A.H. Nayyar and Ahmad Salim's report on the State of Curricula and Textbooks in Pakistan (pub.2003 www.sdpi.org) that the intended perversion of Pakistan's education system and national curricula came about as early as November 1947, even before the death of the country's founder ....
It was during [the 80s] that hatred of India, Indians and Hindus, and of all other things not Islamic, was firmly

Interesting official website.

Dr.Kalam's website at http://presidentofindia.nic.in/ , runs on Linux and Apache . Undoubtedly one of the most qualified persons for the job, he headed India's defence research body, the DRDO and was one of the key members of the team planning and implementing India's second round of nuclear tests in 1998 (India tested its first nuclear device in 1974).
Also a bachelor like India's executive head,the Prime Minister.

This is better answered with an example. and the best example I can find is our president Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam. He is one of India's foremost scientists, accomplished poet in several languages and a gifted musician. Above all he is a teacher par excellence and proponent of non-violence . Not to mention he is web-savvy and is known to reply to mails himself and often gives presentations from his laptop. He is also a big supporter of the Open Source movement. Not to brag- how does Mr. Bush compare? I will leave the readers to judge for themselves.